Outriders PS5 PlayStation 5 PS4 1

Ah, good ol’ Outriders: a PlayStation 5 and PS4 shooter that we, well, didn’t like when we played the demo earlier this month. Our resident looter shooter boffin Robert Ramsey suggested that the release is in for a “rough launch” when it deploys on 1st April – well, as far as PlayStation platforms go, how does a “non-existent launch” sound?

After strong rumours over the weekend, an increasingly aggressive Microsoft has scooped the third-person outing for its Game Pass service, meaning subscribers will be able to download it for free* as part of their monthly fee. To our knowledge, this is the first time the Team of Green has netted a day one third-party release, although there may be other examples we’re overlooking.

Whatever the case, with the PlayStation version commanding a £59.99/$59.99 price point, this title looks like impressively bad value on Sony’s system right now. Is there anyone out there still planning on purchasing it at full-price? Were you even interested in the game to begin with? And could this set a precedent for future releases being included with Microsoft’s subscription, where the PlayStation version is full-price?

We can only imagine publisher Square Enix is looking at the pre-order numbers and quaking in its boots, in which case a day one Game Pass release may resurrect its fortunes. It presumably comes with a big cheque from the Redmond firm to boot. Nevertheless, if this is going to become an recurring trend for third-party titles and not an anomaly, Sony’s going to find itself in hot water fast.

[source news.xbox.com]